Art Warriors

As this blog master sits in her brightly lit bedroom, she stares out the window at the Brooklyn neighborhood-turned-arctic-circle and hopes all the HDC lovers out there are as warm and happy as she is.

Above is the poster for the Residency at the Launchpad. Note the date of the first show: JANUARY 8. Yes, in January, the Hoover Dam is bringing its own storm to NYC. With a spot in grand opening show of The Sapphire Lounge and the opening of our own monthly residency at the Launchpad, the HDC is starting off this new year with momentum that will carry it through the next 12 months.

Let me just say this. On Saturday January 8, you can go to that same old smelly club and get booty-bumped by some scary looking chick from the Bronx, feel free to shoot shit and melt into the couch with your two friends, or fall asleep on a bar stool at Franklin Park. Go ahead, go do the same old thing every freaking weekend. The Hoover Dam Collective, on the other hand, will be rocking, dancing, grooving, shouting, and drinking. We will be partying, collaborating, and fueling each other's creative fires. And we, the cool kids, the drunken artists, the celebratory revolutionists, want you there too. Nothing makes us happier than seeing new faces, especially in the new year. We don't even want your money: the event is FREE!

So, here is a huge rallying cry: GET YOUR DAM ON!

Something to get you excited for the next show:

January 8

The Lanchpad

721 Franklin Ave

Brooklyn, NY

Lovingly,

BK in BK

Happy Holidays from the Hoover Dam Collective!

....And other religion-neutral greetings!

Well, HDC enthusiasts, it seems as if as soon as one show is over, we are getting to work on the next one! Now that the Hoover Dam Collective has a creative residency at The Launchpad on Franklin Ave in Brooklyn, we are inviting everyone to submit and participate! If you have a band, a story, a pair of legs to dance on, a paintbrush in your hand, or just a keen interest in the arts, please contact us! Comment on the blog or email us at HooverDamCollective@gmail.com.

(I will make a firm promise to ease up on the exclamation points from this point forward)

Important, exciting news! (whoops)

Your faithful blog mistress is pleased to announce that the Hoover Dam Collective will be appearing at the Sapphire Lounge on the freaking Lower East Side. That's right. For the first time, the Hoover Dam Collective is taking MANHATTAN. The show is Thursday, January 6th. Write it in your planner, on a napkin, on your iphone, or on your tits (sidenote: stay away from the permanent marker.)

The fantastic funky band Soundhouse will be playing, accompanied by some improvisational dance organized by Theo Boguszewski. (Dancers: Chelsea Retzloff, Theo Boguszewski, Francheska Lopez, Nicole Restani and Breegan Kearney) Soundhouse played at our last Hoover Dam Show, and they brought the house all the way down, below the waist and underground. The entire show starts at 7:30, but our set should be starting around 9:15 pm. Get there on time so you can see the HDC flaunting its finest in Manhattan!

The show itself isn't presented by the Hoover Dam Collective, so I don't have all the details, but from what I've picked up along the wireless grapevine, there will be a few other bands, a live DJ at the end of the night, and a visual art gallery. The cover charge is 5 dollars, the same 5 dollars that you didn't spend on the pair of fake Ray Bans which didn't really make you look cool after all. (Guilty as charged)

Soundhouse Plays at 171 Proof

With that, BK signs off. Stay posted for more information about the Launchpad show on Saturday the 8th of Jan.

Skillfully, Slamfully,

bk in bk

The RECAP! Slideshow!

This past Saturday, in an artistic oasis nestled in the desert of warehouses that is Greenpoint Brooklyn, a killer show went down, blew up, flew sideways and swooped around to kick everyone in the butt. The quality of this show was absolutely incredible, and the caliber of work presented was of such a professional quality.

Check out this SLIDESHOW OF IMAGES from the show!

Additionally, the Collective has some exciting news: The Launchpad, "a creative gathering place focused on the arts, community programs, technology, and anything else that captures the imagination" has offered us a residency! For the first Saturday of every month, we will be presenting a show at this lovely, intimate space. Anyone who is interested in participating, please get in contact with us at Hooverdamcollective@gmail.com. These shows-in-residence will feature longer music and dance sets than we typically present at HDC shows, so that we can highlight the talented individual artists that belong to the Collective.

171 Proof

New fans and loyal friends,

Coming your way at the Station this Saturday the 11th is 171 PROOF, an evening of great performances, raucous fun and frenzy.

Station 171 is the ultimate party place. It features an outdoor deck with sweeping views of manhattan in one direction, and old warehouses in the other, a wide open space for dancing, couches for conversing and doing naughty things in the corner, a bright stage and a cute bar. The whole package is decorated with a hipster-chic ' hey, look what I found on the side of the street, lets hang it up' mentality.

The Station also plays a part in HDC history: it was the venue for our very first party-format laid back show. Our Brooklyn home, to an effect.

The downside? Getting there. It's a long walk in the cold. We know, we've braved it many a time ourselves.

But we've got great news. We're offering a shuttle service to get to station 171! No more freezing toes. More details to follow.

We have planned to overstock our beer and liquor supply so we can provide for the enjoyment of all.

Here's the lineup for the show:

Music Sets:

(the delicate croonings of)

Melissa Ahern

(the get-down funky stuff of)

Wayne Tucker and Tom Larsen {Tucker and Larsen Duological Enterprises Presents: The Semi-Identical Twins}

(the sick rhythms and melodies of)

Zach Koeber and Xavier Hill

(the hot shit of)

NJ3 (David Cutler, James Carp, Alex Mackinnon)

Dance:

Work will be presented by Kat Rhodes, Allison Jones, Theo Boguszewski, Marie McNair, Chelsea Retzloff and Breegan Kearney

Additionally, Katrina Cunningham will be presenting her Slam Poetry, and Willy Appleman will be presenting improvisational comedy with the Thunderbirds-4-Life.

There will be a live DJ set at the end of the night, so that we can all drop our pretenses and dance the night away.

Get ready.

Admission is 5 dollars at the door, and this all starts throwing down (not throwing up 'cause we hold our booze) at 8pm.

Artfully,

BK in bk

- DeliCrash! -

(62 Days in Brooklyn / A.F. 2010)

Attention loyal HDC lovers: get on your hipster shoes and crack open that ice cold Colt 45 because the Hoover Dam Collective is heading to Williamsburg, Brooklyn!

Our next show is Friday, July 16th at the Woodhull Deli and we are absolutely determined to make it our best one yet. I have a great feeling about this show - the line up is phenomenal and the venue is stellar.

Reasons why you should attend this show:

1. It's in The Woodhull Deli - This unconventional space features a large performance space room and connecting outdoor yard for the smokers. Additionally, one must walk through a convenient store to get to the space, where one can buy one's favorite brew and snack. How good can it get?

2. It's in Williamsburg - Most know that Williamsburg is one of the trendiest, hippest neighborhoods to hang out. If you come to our show, you can brag to everyone about coming to Williamsburg, and you get the added bonus of not having to actually hang around with pretentious mopey hipsters! The HDC crowd is all about acceptance, openness, having a good time, and participating in reckless artistic behavior.

3. The Music - A varied blend of musical artists and bands will rock your funk inside out and careen your booty across an acoustic field of lilies, daffodils, and subwoofers.

We've got Bot Jiz (robot dance music), Mokaad (A fabulous Purchase funk band), Melissa Ahern, (talented acoustic artist/singer/songwriter/doe-eyed beauty), Stimpy Lockjaw (demented groove jazz), and Andy Smart (up and coming hip-hop artist and dancer).

4. The Dance - The dance for this show will feature a solid amount of new work from regular HDC contributors including Kat Rhodes, Breegan Kearney, and Theo Boguszewski. I won't give much more away, but you can expect a variety of dramatic, comedic, visceral, and abstract work.

5. The Visual Art - From 8-9p, the HDC is pleased to present an art gallery hour of dynamic work from some of our favorite grungy, plaid wearing visual artists. There may be some free food or wine to grab while you're enjoying the visual stimulation.

6. The Admission - You can enjoy this incredible amount of artistic titillation for only 5 dollars! I don't even believe this cover charge...

7. The Liquor - Bring your singles, because we'll be selling super cheap cocktails at the bar! Beer is also available at the convenience store at an economical price.

Seriously, come check out this epic show. You wont find art of this caliber for such a low price anywhere!

The Woodhull Deli

691 Broadway

Brooklyn, NY 11206

(Btwn Manhattan and Graham)

Take the J or M to Flushing Avenue and walk northwest

Enter the deli and walk to the back of the convenience store for this HDC extravaganza.

A few links:

Facebook Page

Music:

Mokaad

Bot Jiz

Stimpy Lockjaw

Melissa Ahern

Join us!

Artfully,

BK in BK

The Desiderata Music Festival. Location: WhereAreWe?, NY.

A select group of four musicians and four dancers formed a representation of the Hoover Dam Collective at the Desiderata music festival this past Thursday. The 8 intrepid members squished into 2 cars and faced rush hour traffic and convoluted New Jersey thruways, finally to be greeted by the wafting aroma of cow poop, open skies and lovely hills. Yes, the HDC met the Catskills!

The 8 HDC members stayed in a log cabin -- a cute functional little thing with a banging sound system -- and immediately got to work rehearsing in the modestly sized dining room. Though the dancers were frustrated with the small space, the musicians were content to jam with each other, providing a rocking score to the rehearsal process.

The music festival itself was, using an ambiguous but appropriate word: Interesting. A group of people all ages gathered for a relatively reasonable price to camp, drink, do drugs, engage in activities such a yoga and stage-decoration, and above all else, enjoy great music. I found myself judging the attendees quickly, placing them in groups such as "graduated from Purchase in the 1990's", "Trust-fund-afarians" and "straightforward druggies." However, after spending a mere hour in the atmosphere, I found the people to be the most open, encouraging and accepting people I have really encountered in the last few years.

The show went over pretty well. The attendance wasn't great, but we got a bit of exposure, and above all we gave everything we had, in true Hoover Dam fashion.

Later that night, the four musicians (Alex Mackinnon, Zach Koeber, David Cutler and Spencer Murphy) played their own set under the title Bot Jiz. The show absolutely blew my mind, and the HDC dancers were invited on stage for a special appearance.

Check out Bot Jiz's Myspace for some excellent material for your ears here:

http://www.myspace.com/botjizz

One more thing. I have decided to coin the HDC's first official slang word. From now on please substitute the word "vision" for "awesome"

"Yo, check out that dude's tattoo. That shit is vision."

Artuflly,

Bk in Bk

Fanfares, Introductions, Missions, More Fanfares.

Welcome to Damn! - The Hoover Dam Collective Blog.

What is this thing? Who are these kids? What are they trying to accomplish with their body-bumping, bass-thumping evenings of artistic collaboration? Why "The Hoover Dam" anyway?

This blog will attempt to answer questions about the HDC as well as detail the extraordinary circumstances we find ourselves in as we try to do what we do best: make art and party.

First things first - Our mission statement:

"The Hoover Dam Collective is a group of young artists based in Brooklyn, New York, who are particularly interested in making work that crosses the boundaries of specific art disciplines. The Collective was founded in 2009 by a group of dynamic individuals from the world-renowned arts conservatories at State University of New York at Purchase College. The HDC produces concerts and arts events in and around New York City which feature collaboration between music, dance, film, theater and visual art. We are interested in exploring how our various art forms overlap by creating a new genre of performing art that incorporates all forms of creative investigation. The concert events are site specific to each venue and it is our endeavor to transform these interdisciplinary performances into a laid-back party setting. Our primary goal is to expose our art to new audiences and break down the barrier between spectator and performer. We hope to cultivate local talent and give young artists the opportunity to learn through collaboration, while also providing exposure opportunities. Most importantly, we hope that our work can help audiences re-evaluate the role that art has in our lives and in the world around us."

Now, to address the question of where our name came from: The seed of the HDC was planted in the head of its creators within one special apartment affectionately known as "The Hoover Dam," where the initial meetings took place. This apartment received its name through a Hoover Dam shot glass with mysterious origins that appeared in the kitchen. Every time the occupants needed to make some celebratory toast, "To the Hoover Dam!" was an obvious choice. Hence, when the members of the the then untitled HDC needed to conjure a name for themselves, "The Hoover Dam Collective" won. (Other possible names were "The Lemon Bar Alliance" or "The Purple Velvet Pants Collective")

A short bit about HDC's history:

Our first show, "For the Sake of Art" premiered in the spring of 2010 in the Dance Theatre Lab at Purchase College. The event took a concert dance format and remains the most formal HDC show to date. "For the Sake of Art" was an exploration in collaboration and opened a variety of doors for the creators.

This show was brought to a venue called Station 171 in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, with the introduction of live sets by great bands interspersed with selected works from the first show, and a copious amount of free beer. The night turned out the be a great show, a rocking party, and the discovery of what HDC was meant to be.

Since then, the HDC has been tasting a variety of flavorful venues and atmospheres, performing in the greater New York metropolitan area and perfecting the formula of what makes the shows work.

We are looking forward to our next show on Friday July 16th at the Woodhull Deli in Brooklyn. Watch out for a new post with more details!

Artfully,

BK in BK